DESTROYER is the fourth studio album and fifth album overall by hard rock band Kiss, released on March 15, 1976 in the United States. It was the second consecutive Kiss album to reach the Top 20 in the United States, as well as the first to chart in Germany and New Zealand. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on April 22, 1976. It was certified platinum on November 11, 1976, the first Kiss album to achieve that distinction.

Before DESTROYER, Kiss'' studio albums were only moderate sellers. But the band''s concerts were selling out regularly, and 1975''s ALIVE! album had gone gold, putting Kiss on the pop map. Coming on the heels of ALIVE!, DESTROYER is easily the most ambitious and chancy studio recording of Kiss''s 70''s catalogue.

Bob Ezrin, who had previously worked with Alice Cooper, was brought in to produce the album and finally get Kiss'' grandiose rock ideas down on record. Among the production flourishes Ezrin introduced to Kiss were sound effects, strings, screaming children and reversed drums (on "God of Thunder") as well as a children''s choir.

Album opens with a radio announcer reporting a teen''s death in a car crash, followed by a snippet of "Rock And Roll All Nite" (which had appeared on 1975''s DRESSED TO KILL); then the band launches into "Detroit Rock City," an homage to the first city to make them stars. "Great Expectations" uses a guitar tone that exposes the band''s glam-rock ambitions. The song features ornate orchestration, a heavenly chorus and includes the first phrase of the main theme from the second movement of Beethoven''s Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, opus 13 "Pathétique", but songwriting is credited to Simmons and Ezrin. The same theme was also lifted (and properly credited partially to Beethoven) by Billy Joel in 1983 for the song "This Night" from the album, AN INNOCENT MAN. DESTROYER also includes a ready-made rock anthems ("Shout It Out Loud"), a swipe at manipulative groupies ("Do You Love Me," which is punched up with tubular bells) and a foreboding song about "the lord of the wasteland" that became Gene Simmons'' signature tune ("God Of Thunder"). And then there is "Beth," an uncharacteristic ballad, sung and co-written by drummer Peter Criss. The lush strings and delicate piano gave Kiss a Top-10 hit and a greater fan base. Soon would come a TV Movie KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK and a comic book.

DESTROYER is the first Kiss album to prominently feature outside musicians, such as members of the New York Philharmonic - Symphony Orchestra. However, one musician was not credited: Dick Wagner, from Alice Cooper''s band, replaced Ace Frehley on tracks such as "Sweet Pain" (as Frehley didn''t want to interrupt a card game he was playing during recording sessions for the song) and even on a song that Frehley himself co-wrote, "Flaming Youth". Wagner also played the acoustic guitar found on the song "Beth". The success of ALIVE! and DESTROYER enabled the band to embark on their first tour of Europe. Throughout the years, "Detroit Rock City", "Shout It Out Loud", "God of Thunder", "King of the Night Time World", and "Do You Love Me?" have become permanent staples on the band''s concerts. "Beth" was last played live on the band''s Dec. 20, 2003 concert at Save Mart Center in Fresno, CA the last show of the WORLD DOMINATION TOUR. After drummer Peter Criss'' final departure, the band retired the song from their set list until the SONIC BOOM OVER EUROPE: FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE BOOM TOUR, where they began performing the song acoustic with Eric Singer providing the vocals. "God of Thunder" was last played in 2008 in Athens, Greece. In 2003, the album was ranked number 496 on Rolling Stone magazine''s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

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